African American History Exam

Study Guide for African American History Exam

George Bancroft

Was a romantic, statesman, and politician. Was from the original thirteen colonies. Wrote the History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent (1834).

George Washington Williams

Was elected to the Ohio state legislator, a soldier (fighting in the Civil War), and a clergymen. Wrote the History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880: Negros as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens.

John Hope Franklin

Was the second Black Person to get a PH. D from Harvard. Wrote From Slavery to Freedom (1947).

Benjamin Quarles

Writer of The Negro in the American Revolution (1961), the history of African Americans fighting in the Civil war.

Lerone Bennett Jr.

Wrote the first popular history of African Americans titled Before the Mayflower: A History of the Negro in America 1619-1962 (1962).Was the senior editor of Ebony Magazine.

General Toussaint Louverture

Inspired millions of free and enslaved people of African descent to seek freedom and equality throughout the Atlantic world through the Haitian Revolution. Defeated the oppressors of the Atlantic slave society. Created the second independent Republic in the western hemisphere.

William Wilberforce

A British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic Slave Trade. Become an independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire.

Lorenzo Johnston Greene

A pioneering African American historian. Addressed Black Life in New England in 1942-1961.

Hannah Nicole Jones

An African American journalist, covering civil rights in the United States. Creator of the landmark The 1619 Project.

Phillis Wheatley

An enslaved Black woman who used her talents in poetry to distinguish herself and find freedom. She was one of the best known poets in pre-19th century America

Orlando Patterson

Was a sociologist who coined the term Social Death,  in his book titled Slavery and Social Death. Also developed the concept of Natal Alienation to describe a key aspect of social death.

John Wesley

One of the principal leaders of the revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism, which promoted widespread charitable work and social reform, and ultimately influenced the moral and political landscape of Britain.

George Whitefield

An English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.

Richard Allen

A prominent African American minister, educator, and a founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. One of the leaders who made an account of the Black community’s actions during the Yellow Fever epidemic.

Absalom Jones

A former slave who became a prominent clergyman and activist in Philadelphia. Founded the Free African Society along with Richard Allen in 1787. Founded the first Black Episcopal congregation and became the first African American to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal church of the US.

Mary Prince

Was the first black woman to publish an autobiography of her experience as a slave. She was brought to England as a servant in 1828 and later left her enslaver.

James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw

Was an enslaved African American man who is considered the first published African in Britain. Known for his 1772 narrative autobiography A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of _____________. This was the first slave narrative published in England.

David Walker

An American abolitionist, writer, and anti-slavery activist. Published one of the most important documents of the 19th century, An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World. The pamphlet denounces slavery and racism. His appeal was widely read by 1830.

Jupiter Hammon

Known as a founder of African American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American man in North America. He subsequently published both poetry and prose.

Slave Holding Society

A social system where slavery is the dominant institution, with enslaved people forming a significant portion of the population and serving as the backbone of the economy. This pervading system of chattel slavery shapes the social, economic, and cultural structures, making the exploitation of enslaved labor essential for the society’s functioning and wealth accumulation. It is the fundamental basis of the social and political order.

Santa Domingue

Located in the western region of the island of Hispaniola, was a prized possession of France, due to the wealth derived from the labor of a half million enslaved people, working primarily in sugarcane and coffee cultivation.

Indigenous Nations

predate European colonization

Charleston

Settled as a British 1670 based on plantation slavery in Barbados. Direct importation of slavery from the African continent began circa 1710. Was a site of an expansive slaveholding society in North America.

Social Death

The dehumanizing process by which a person is treated as if they are no longer a part of society, losing their human status, social identity, and connections.

Natal Alienation

the profound disconnection and severance of an individual from their heritage, kinship, cultural traditions, and history, also developed by Orlando Patterson. Signifies the loss of ties of birth in both ancestral and future generations, rendering the individual “socially dead“ by stripping them of their social identity and place within any legitimate order.

Black Urban Communities

Primarily located in coastal cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, where free and enslaved people of African descent, along with indigenous people built communities and developed unique cultural traditions despite the challenges of widespread racism and enslavement.

Bourgeois

Anyone who lived in an urban area. Could also apply to wealthy people who did no labor.

Colonial working Class

a broad group of the colonial population that consisted of farmers, unskilled laborers, artisans, and indentured servants, working to survive.

Natality

The human capacity to begin something new and create new beginnings.

Evangelism

A Protestant Christian movement emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bible’s authority, and the necessity of being born again through spiritual rebirth.

Literacy

empowers and liberates people